Single-trigger mechanism



G. E. LARSSON SINGLE Jan. 8, 1952 TRIGGER MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 5. 1948 Jan. 8, 1952 G. E. LARSSON SINGLE-TRIGGER MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 3, 1948 1952 e. E. LARSSON 2,581,339

SINGLE-TRIGGER MECHANISM Filed Aug. 5, 1948 3 Sheets-$heet 3 Patented Jan. 8, 1952 reenter-T grammar. e

Georg e Larsson, New Haven conm, assignor to Olin Industries, Inc., New Haven, Conn., a corporation oi Delaware Application August 3, 1948, still no. 42,238

'Ihepresent invention-relates in" general to firearms and moreespecially to trigger-mechanisms .of that class inwhich: a single triggeris adapted toactuate two or more firing-mecha nisms in sequence. j r f 1 Anobject of the :inventionis to provide a superior single-trigger mechanism for a multiplebarrel firearm. 1 1; y

Aiurtherobiect of theinvention is'to provide amultiple-barrel firearm with, a relatively-,im expensive compact and dependable triggermechanism ofthe type: referred to; constructed with particular; reference to safety and adaptability to the firing-mechanisms of existing fire- A still a further object of the invention is. to provide a multiple-barrel firearm'with superior trigger mechanism-of the type referred-to, characterized by inertia-means; for..1automatically selecting the firing sequence of; the firearm: 1

-with the above and other objects in view, as will appear-to those skilled-in-the artfrom the present disclosure, this; invention includes all features inthe said disclosure which are novel over the prior art; i I e I In the accompanying drawings; in :which; certain modes of carrying; out the present invention are shown for illustrative purposes:-

Fig. 1' is a broken view, partly'in'side elevation and partly in vertical-longitudinalsection of the frame-portion of a double-barrel shotgun embodying the single-trigger mechanism ofthis-in Fig. 3 is a broken perspectiveeview of the frame-portion of the double-barrel shotgun-of Fig. 1 showing the relative positionsof the firingmechanisms and single-trigger :mechanismioh lowing release of the right-hand pfiring-pimuthe relative positions of theelementsof the trigger mechanism being shownin the positions they have assumed immediately beforesrecoilg Fig. 4 is afragmentaryperspectiveryiew ofthe single trigger mechanism of the firearm showing the relative positions of the sear-actuators immediately following recoil .of the Tfirearm, the

leftehand sear-actuator being moved into position to lock the trigger;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspectiveiviewof the trigger-mechanism of the firearm with the in section on 1 Claims. (01. 42-42) sear-actuators the positions they assume preparatory to .the discharge of the left-hand barrel of the flr'earm; e

Figz '6 isa detached expanded perspective view of theleft and-right-hand-sear-actuators; and

Figp7--is a perspective vievi of the "trigger. -i-Aniexemplary embodiment of the'invention is illustrated with the firing-mechanisms and associated-parts of a double barrel breakdown-shotgun, although it"wi'll be understood that the invention is applicable to other "types of multiple barrel firearms. Referring to the drawings; the firearm shown herein embodies a frame indicated generally" at -10 provided at its upper rear end withz'a rearwardly-extending tang l I; and on its underside with ac-trig'ger plate l2 havinga rear wardly extending tang-portion 13; to the under side of whichis'secured'a' trigger-guard l4.

1 The forward end of a buttstock, indicated 'generally at I 5," is adapted tobe secured between the-rear ends of the upper and lower tan'gs' by means of a tie-rod extending longitudinally through the buttstock and threadedly engaged atitslforward "end in an'ap'ertureof apost I 6 fixedly mounted betweentherear ends of the aforesaid tangs H" and I 3 respectively.

'The construction and operation of thelocking-mechanismnofthe firearm are well understood "in theart and inasmuch as they are indirectly: related to the'improved trigger-mechanism' ofthe invention, it is believed that it will sufice to say that thereciprocablelocking-bolt Hi' ofIthe locking-mechanism is'retracted from locking engagement with the barrelunit l 8. of the' firearmbyineans of an eccentric-pin l9 projectingupwardly from the locking-bolt l1 "into an eccentric substantially-vertical slot in the left-hand side 'of' the cylindrical bolster 20 of a laterally-swinging top lever 2|, the retraction of the locking-bolt I I by the lateral swinging movement of the to'plever 2| permitting the unlocking of the piecefor breakdown action in the usual manner of breakdown firearms.

The top lever 2| is'adapted normally-to hold therreciprocable locking-bolt IT forwardly in locking engagement with the barrel-unit l8'and' tothis end alink 22vis provided the shank'of which is slidably supported atits rearend in Y the aperturedleg 2'3 -of'a bracket 24 fastened to the underside of the upper tang II, the forward end of the link 22 being oiTsetlaterally 'with' respect to thevertical :axis' of the bolster 20 and engageable in an eccentric-recess 25 in the left-" hand-side-of -ithe shoulderzfi of the bolster zfi.

A coil spring 21 is carried on the shank of the The rear end of the bracket 24 is provided with 1 a depending apron-portion 23 having two transversely-spaced substantially-rectangular guideapertures, the right-hand one of which is indicated at 30, adapted to slidably support the rear end-portions of the substantially-rectangular shanks 3| and 32 respectively of the firing-plungers of the firing-mechanisms. The firing-plungers are indicated generally at 33 and 34 respectively, the forward end of each firing-plunger being reduced in cross section to provide firingpins 35 and 36 respectively, slidably supported in suitable apertures of the standing-breech 31. Formed on the underside of each firing-plunger is a forwardly-facing cocking-shoulder 38 and and 39 respectively, adapted to be engaged by the respective rearwardly-facing shoulders of the sear-notches 40 and 4! of a pair of pivoted sears 42 and 43 respectively, the latter serving to hold the firing-plungers in retracted or cooked position against the force of the firing-plunger springs 44 and 45. As shown especially well in Figs. 1 and 3, the firing-plunger springs 44 and'45 are mounted on the shanks 3! and 32 respectively of the firingplungers between the front face of the bracketapron 28 and the rearwardly-facing shoulders 46 and 4'! respectively of the firing-plungers.

The bracket 24 also serves as a means for securing the forward end of a leaf spring 48 to the underside of the upper tang II, the rear end of the leaf spring being slotted longitudinally to form rightand left-hand laterally-spaced substantially-parallel spring-arms 50, each provided with a substantially V-shaped detent 52 respectively. The latter are adapted to cooperatively engage the outer ends of a pin 53 extending transversely through a tongue-member 54 of a safetyslide 55 which is formed on or otherwise secured to the upper end of the tongue 54 for longitudinal sliding movement on the top side of the upper tang ll. The safety-slide 55 is guided for longitudinal movement on the upper tang II, by engagement of its tongue 54 in a longitudinal slot in the upper tang I l and is adapted to be held in its rearward or safety on position by engagement of the outer ends of its transverse-pin 53 with the rearwardly-facing shoulders of the V- shaped detents 52 of the spring leaf 48; and in its forward or safety off position by engagement of the transversely-extending ends 'of the pin 53 with the forwardly-facing shoulders of the V- shaped detents.

Pivotally secured at its rear end to the forward end of the tongue-member 54 of the safety-slide 55 is a safety-slide actuating-bar 5B. The latter is slidably supported intermediate its opposite ends in a substantially-vertical slot in the upstanding leg-portion 51 of a bracket 58 suitably secured to the top side of the trigger-plate l2. A pin 59 extends transversely through the vertical slot of the leg-portion 51 of the bracket and engages in a longitudinal slot 6|) of the actuatingbar 56 to support the latter in the vertical slot of the bracket and to limit the reciprocable move- 4 ment of the actuating-bar therein. The forward end of the actuating-bar 58 is adapted normally, that is to say, when the safety-slide is in its "off position to engage against the rear end of the locking-bolt I! in which position it is resiliently held by coaction of the pin 53 of the safetyslide with the forwardly-facing shoulders of the V-shaped detents 52. On the other hand, actuation of the top lever 21 to unlock the barrel-unit l8 from the frame ID as hereinafter described, will displace the locking-bolt ll rearwardly, positively, and hence move the actuating-bar 56 rearwardly thereby automatically displacing the ends of the safety slide-pin 53 opposite the rearwardlyfacing shoulders of the detents whereby the safety-slide 55 is held in its safety on position.

Formed on the actuating-bar 56 intermediate its rear end and its longitudinal slot 60, is an integral transversely-projecting lug 6! adapted to engage the upper end of one of the sear-actuators and, in particular, the sear-actuator of the righthand sear 43 when the safety-slide 55 is in its rearward or safety on" position, to disconnect the sear 43 from the trigger thereby to positively prevent inadvertent firing of the firearm. However, when the safety-slide 55 is in its normal off position, the lug 6| of the actuating-bar 53 is displaced forwardly of the right-hand searactuator, as shown especially well in Fig. 1, thereby permitting the latter tocooperatively engage the trigger, as and for the purpose hereinafter described.

Each of the aforesaid sears 42 and 43 comprises a lever-member having a transverse aperture intermediate its opposite ends to receive the corresponding end of the transverse pivot-pin 59 of the bracket 58, each sear being pivotally mounted thus in a vertical slot of the aforesaid leg-portion 51 of the bracket and on opposite sides respectively of the actuating-bar 56. The forward end of each sear is provided with the aforesaid sear shoulders 40 and 4| respectively, while the rearend portion of each sear is bent downwardly and provided at its lower extremity with a substantially-horizontal, rearwardly-extending, inwardly-oifset fin-portions 62 and 63 respectively. The latter are located in a vertical plane below the underside of the actuating-bar 56 with the inner faces of the respective inwardly-offset fins in substantially mutual engagement, the one fin being slidable vertically past the other.

Each fin 62 and 63 respectively of the aforesaid sears is provided with a transverse aper ture in which the inner end of a pin 54 and 55 respectively is secured, the opposite ends of said respective pins extending outwardly transversely for pivotally supporting the respective searactuators 66 and 6'! of the scars 42 and 43, the sear-actuators being pivotally supported on the aforesaid pins 64 and 65 respectively, substantially vertically; As shown especially well in. Fig. 2, each sear-actuator pivot-pin carries a spring 68 and 69 respectively on its outer endr the lower arm 10 of the sear-actuator spring 63 engaging the front edge of the sear-actuator 35 and the upper arm H of the sear-actuator spring 68 bearing at its forward end against the under side of the bent-down portion of the sear 42. Similarly, the lower arm 12 of the sear-actuator spring 69 engages against the front edge of the sear-actuator 61, while its upper arm 13 engages beneath the lower edge of the bent-down portion of the sear 43. In accordance with this construction, each sear-actuator 56 and 61 respectively is urged normally to pivot in a clockwise direction as seen in Figs. 1 and 3 about its respective pivot-pins S4 and 65 at the rear ends of the scars 42 and 43.

The sear-actuator 66 comprises a blade-like member susbtantially rectangular in shape, its bottom edge consistuting a substantially-square shoulder 14. Formed integrally or otherwise secured to the forward edge of the sear-actuator 66 adjacent the lower end thereof, is an inertiaweight '15 which, as shown especially well in Fig. 3, extends transversely from the left-hand searactuator across to the right-hand sear-actuator and is adapted normally to be held against the front edge thereof by the force of its spring 68 whereby the front edges of the actuators lie. normally, in the same transverse plane. The inertia-weight is a solid substantially-rectangular metal block, the underside it of which comprises a cylindrical surface of revolution sloping upwardly and forwardly for the purpose hereinafter described.

The sear-actuator 61' is also a substantiallyrectangular blade-like member, but is substantially twice the width of the sear-actuator 66 and is provided above its pivot-pin 65 with an upwardly-extending blade-portion H. The latter lies in the path of the lug 6! of the aforesaid actuating-bar 56 and immediately rearwardly thereof, as a consequence of which the bladeportion 11 is adapted to be engaged and swung rearwardly against the resistance of its spring 69 by the lug 61 when the actuating-bar 55 is moved rearwardly as hereinabove described. The lower end 18 of the sear-actuator 6'? is provided with a rectangular notch in its bottom rear corner forming a substantially-square shoulder 19, the latter being in substantially the plane of the bottom edge 14 of the sear-actuator 65, as shown especially well in Fig. l.

The lower end 18 of the sear actuator 5'! extends below the shoulder 19 of the notch. More particularly, with the sear-actuators 66 and 61 and the trigger B8 of the trigger-mechanisms in their normal firing positions, as shown in Fig. 1, the lower end 18 of the actuator 61 is received in a substantially-vertical clearance-recess 8| which is formed in the top edge 82 of the trigger 80 and extends transversely between opposite sides thereof, the rear wall of the clearance-recess 8| being substantially vertical and forming a stopshoulder 83. The said stop-shoulder 83 forms a square shoulder 84 with the top edge 82 of the trigger.

Due to the construction and arrangement of the sear-actuators 66-61 as above described, the shoulder 19 of the actuator 61 overlies the shoulder 84 of the trigger and its lower end I8 is normally held in engagement with the stopshoulder 83 of the trigger. As thus arranged the actuator 61 is normally prevented from being pivoted clockwise by its spring 69 save as will hereinafter appear, and serves by means of the inertia-weight 15 to hold the shoulder 74 of the sear-actuator 66 in its normal inoperative position forwardly of the stop-shoulder 83 of the trigger.

The trigger B0 is pivoted at its forward end in the trigger-plate l2 by a transverse pivot-pin 85 and is adapted to be resiliently held in its normal forward position by a trigger-spring 85, the rearwardly-extending arm 87 of which bears at its lower end against the bottom of a relatively-narrow deep vertical slot 88 formed in the upper edge of the trigger intermediate the opposite sides thereof. As shown specially well in Fig. 1, the vertical slot 88 intersects the forward end of the trigger and extends rearwardly in the top edge thereof beyond the vertical stop-shoulder 83 of its clearance-recess 8|, the depth of the vertical slot 88 being considerably greater than the depth of the clearance-recess 8|. The forward arm 89 of the trigger-spring 86 engages at its forward extremity on the top side of the trigger-plate.

Referring especially to Fig. 3, formed integrally at the forward end of the trigger and projecting upwardly substantially-vertically of its pivotpin is an integral vertically-slotted stop-finger 90, the upper ends of which are provided with forwardly-facing beveled surfaces 9! adapted normally to lie in proximity to the upwardly-and-rearwardly-sloping bottom edge 92 of the bracket 58, the sloping bottom edge 92 of which constitutes a, fixed abutment adapted to be engaged by the beveled surfaces 9| of the tri ger stop-finger to positively limit the rearward movement of the trigger. The back edges of the vertically-slotted stop-finger are formed with arcuate concave surfaces 93 adapted to be engaged by the underside 16 of the inertia-weight 15 when the elements of the trigger-mechanisms are in the positions of recoil, as shown in Fig. 4, the distance from the pivot-pin 64 of the actuator 66 to the underside 16 of its inertia-weight 15 being such that the underside of said weight engages'the arcuate concave surfaces 93 of the stop-finger 90 forwardly of its pivot-pin 85 thereby to positively prevent the rearward movement of the trigger stop-finger and the concurrent forward movement of the trigger 89 either upon voluntary or involuntary release thereof, immediately following discharge of the firearm.

For a better understanding of the operation of the parts above described, let it be presumed that the elements of the trigger and firing-mechanisms are in the positions they take following the reloading of the firearm and movement of the safety-slide 55 manually forwardly into its safety off position, the firing-plungers 33 and 34 being held in their retracted cocked positions by the respective sears 42 and 43, the shoulders of which are held up in engagement with the cocking-notches of the respective firing-plungers by coil sear-springs 94 and 95 respectively mounted uprightly in the bracket 58 and engaging at their upper ends against the bottom edges of the respective sears forwardly of the pivot-pin 59 thereof. The compressed firing-springs 44 and 45 urge the cocking-notches of the respective firing-plungers forwardly against the respective sear-shoulders 42 and 43 and due to the obliquity of the mutually-engaging surfaces of the cockingnotches and sear-shoulders, the latter are successfully held up in cocking engagement with the firing-plungers. With the sears in cooking engagement with the firing-plungers, the lower forward end of the sear-actuator 61 is resiliently held in engagement with the forwardly-facing substantially-square shoulder 83 of the clearr ance-recess 8| by the force of the actuator-spring 69, the step 19 of the actuator 61 being disposed in operative position immediately above the square shoulder 84 of the trigger whereby the sear-actuator 6-1 will be lifted upon rearward draft of the trigger. The sear-actuator 6? is thus positively held from pivoting clockwise, and since the laterally-extending back face of the inertia-block 15 engages against the front edge of the sear-actuator 61, the sear-actuator 66 is 75 efiectively prevented from pivoting in a clockwise directionehdsincethe sear-actuator 66 is only substantiallyhalf as wide as the sear-actuator 81, the bottom edge ll; of the actuator 65 is held forwardly of the square shoulder 85 of the trigger, that is' to say, the sear-actuator 66 is held in an inoperative position with respect to the trigger. V

On pulling rearwardly on the trigger 89, the upper edge 82, and more especiall its square shoulder 8t, is elevated against the substantiallysquare shoulder '59 of the sear-actuator Bl thereby raising the latter upwardly substantiallyvertically whereby the sear 63 is pivoted downwardly in a olockwisedirection to disengage its shoulder {ll from the cocking-notch 39 of the firing-plunger 3 l. Thelatter is thereupon released and driven forwardly by the force of its compressed spring t5 to discharge a cartridge in the right-hand barrel of the firearm. The positions of the respective elements of the trigger* mechanisms and fire'econtrol.mechanisms of the firearm at the instant of'flring and prior to recoil are as shown in, Fig. That is to say, the sear-actuator .6? is held upin its elevated position by the shoulder 8d of the trigger, while the lower end of the sear-actuator 65 remains below and forwardly of the shoulder fi ljof the trigger.

Assuming now that thefireerm' has recoiled, then the efiect of recoil isto swing the inertiaweight of the sear-actuator 5:3 forwardly, as shown especially ,well in Figg l, thereby moving the underside}? oi the weight it into engagement with the baolrledgesfit ofthe trigger stopfingert l. The sear-actuator St and its inertiaweight 75 thus constitute a strut-like member which positively prevents thetrigger-stop finger 9t fron fpivoting a counterclockwise direction. Consequently, the trigger fill is held in its upward pulled-back position against the force of its flexed spring 85, even though the trigger may be involuntarily released by' the' shooters finger on recoil of the firearm. Hence, the forwardlye facing shoulder 83 of the trigger-clearance recess 8! is held up in the path of the lower ends of the spring-biased sear-actuators 6t and 61 whereby each actuator and, moreespecially, the lower end is of the sear-actuator (H, is prevented from being swung clockwise over the upper edge82 of the triggerinto operative relationship with the shoulder 8 thereof by the force ofits.

spring n Thus, the subsequent i.n.voluntary rearward pull of the shooters finger on thetrig-v ger occasioned byfthe counter-recoil of the firearm, is effectively prevented from involuntarily firing the cartridge'in the secondbarrel of the firearm. Following the oounter recoil of thefirearm and" the voluntary releaseof the trigger, the lower end '53 of the 'sear-aotuatorfilispermitted to swing past the "lowered shoulder I3 3 "of the clearancerecess iii over the upper edge 82fof the trigger rearwardly of its shoulder 84, as shown in Fig. 5. In this position'of the'aotnator 6'5, its for' ward edge moved rearwardlylof thejaforesaid trigger-shoulder 33 thereby permitting the inertia-weight, together with its sear-actuator $6, to be swung rearwardly byfthe force of the searactuator spring 58 so as to position the lower end 74 of the actuator 55 immediately above and in operative relationship with the shoulder as of the trigger. Now, with the elements of the triggermechanisms in the positions shown in Fig. 5, on pulling the trigger Bil "rearwardly, both the searactuator 66 and the sear a'ctuator fi'lwill'be elevated. Since the sear d3 of the sear-actuator 61' has'already released the firing plunger'fl, the

sear 43 will be held downwardly thereby and the elevation of the sear-actuator 61 will have no effect on the firing-plunger 34. On the otherhand. elevation of the sear actuator 66 will lower. the shoulder 40 of the sear 42 from engagement with the cocking-notch 38of the firing-plunger 33 to release the latter. and fire the cartridge in the second barrel of the firearm. Immediately following discharge of the second cartridge, the firearm will recoil, but inasmuch as the upper edge 82 of the trigger is engaging against the bottom edge 14 of the sear-actuator 66-, the latter is restrained from swinging forwardly and in all probability the sear-actuators will remain in the positions shown in Fig. 5.. On releasing the trigger, either voluntarily orinvoluntarily, the latter will be swung down into its normal position by the force of the fleXedtrigger-spring 88, the pivoted sear-actuators being held in their rearwardly displaced positions by the forces of their respective actuator-springs 68 and 69. 7

To reload the firearm, the top lever 23 is swung tov the right and forwardly so asto retract the locking-bolt I! from the locking-recess in the bar rel-unit l8, whereby the barrel-unit may be swung downwardly, as is characteristic offirearms of this.type,'to open the breech and simul: taneously eifect the extraction of the fired shells. Simultaneously, the rearward movement of the locking-bolt ll displaces the actuating-bar 56 rearwardly thereby moving its, lug Bi against ithe the 'bladeportion Ti ofthe sear-actuator 61 so as to pivot the latter in a counterclockwise direction, whereby the notched lower end of the latter, together with the, lower end of the sear-actuator B6, is swung forwardly of the shoulder 84 of the trigger into safef positions substantially opposite the clearance-recess 8| thereof the displace ment of the sear-actuators into their respective safe positions being accompanied ,by rearward displacement of the safety-slide 56 to its safety "on position, as hereinabove described. Now when the barrel-unit I8 is swung downwardly relative to the frame ill, a pair of cocking-links 96 and 91 are actuatedin awell-known manner to retract the firing-plungers 33 and 34 and dis.- place the respective cocking-notches 33 and 39 thereof rearwardly of the shoulders 49 and 4! of the respective sears 42 and 43. The latter have been held downwardly heretofore by the released firing-plungers which ride over theforward ends thereof, but on retraction of the firing-plungers the compressed sear-springs 94 and 95 elevate the shoulders of the sears into the paths of the respective cocking-shoulders of the firing-plungers. Consequently, after inserting, fresh cartridges into the chambers of the barrel-unit i8 andswingg arm, the operator must manually movethe safety slide 55 forwardly to its safety jofi? position, whereupon the actuating bar 56 will be advanced to its position shown'inFig. 1 thereby releasing the sear-actuator 6'! which, urged by the force.

of its springtmpivots clockwise to re-engage its notched end with the shoulder 'of the trigger 80, the spring-biased sear-actuator 65 pivoting re r; war'dly clockwise with the "sear-actuator? 61 to assume its normal position with-respect thereto, as shown in Fig. l. The firearm is again in readiness for a repetition of the cycle of firing and loading as described above.

The invention maybe carried outin othersp'ecific ways than those herein set forthwithoutdeparting from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are, therefore, to beconsidered in augespects as illustrative and not restrictive; and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein;

Iclaim:

1. In a single-trigger mechanism for multiple; barrel firearms, the combination with a p'air of firing-mechanisms including; air of sears: of a trigger; a pair of sear-actuators} each actuator being carried by one of said sears and arranged to be sequentially associated with said trigger with capacity for pivotal movement with respect thereto for actuating the respective sears; and a recoil-actuated element carried by one of said searactuators, said recoil-actuated element being engaged normally with the second sear-actuator when said second sear-actuator is in engagement with said trigger to hold said one sear-actuator out of cooperative engagement with said trigger, said recoil-actuated element being arranged to move forwardly on recoil of said firearm and to carry the said one sear-actuator attached thereto forwardly therewith out of position for cooperative engagement with said trigger thereby the firing-mechanisms to be released in a predetermined sequence when said trigger is pulled to discharge said firearm.

2. In a single-trigger mechanism for multiplebarrel firearms, the combination with a pair of firing-mechanisms including a pair of sears: of a trigger having a trigger-stop; a pair of sear-actuators, each actuator being carried by one of said sears and arranged to be cooperatively associated with said trigger with capacity for pivotal movement with respect thereto for actuating the respective sears; and a recoil-actuated element cooperatively associated with one of said searactuators to pivot said one sear-actuator forwardly into engagement with said trigger-stop on recoil of said firearm thereby to lock said trigger from involuntary release on recoil of said firearm so as to effect the release of said firing-mechanisms in a predetermined sequence when said trigger is pulled to discharge said firearm.

3. In a single-trigger mechanism for multiplebarrel firearms, the combination with a pair of firing-mechanisms including a pair of sears: of a trigger; a pair of sear-actuators, each actuator being carried by one of said sears and arranged to be sequentially associated with said trigger with capacity for pivotal movement with respect thereto for actuating the respective sears; a recoil-actuated element carried by one of said searactuators, said recoil-actuated element being engaged normally with the second sear-actuator when said second sear-actuator is in engagement with said trigger to hold said one sear-actuator out of cooperative engagement with said trigger, said recoil-actuated element being arranged to move forwardly on recoil of said firearm and to carry the said one sear-actuator attached thereto forwardly therewith out of position for cooperative engagement with said trigger thereby the firing mechanisms to be released in a predetermined sequencewhen said trigger is pulled to discharge' said firearm; and resilientmeans cooperatively associated with each sear n; o resmn inse uaio pmtmal t r said actuators in operative relationship with said trigger. V g a V v p ig Ina single-trigger mechanism for multipleb'arrelfirearmsthe combination with a pair of firing mechani-sms' including a pairof pivoted sears and sear-springs arranged to hold, said sears in positions for cooking said firing-mechanisms: of aptrig ir; a pairof sear-actuators, each seara ctuatorbeing pivotally. mounted onthe rear end of one of said pivotedsearsifqr pscillatorymove ment in the: verticalplane thereof and arranged to be elevated by said trigger for pivotingthe respective sears out of cooking engagement with said firingmechanisms; and an inertia-weight carried by one of said sear-actuators, said inertia weight being constructed and arranged to hold the said one sear-actuator out of cooperative engagement with said trigger both when the second sear-actuator is in cooperative engagement therewith and upon recoil of said firearm.

5. In a single-trigger mechanism for multiplebarrel firearms, the combination with a pair of firing-mechanisms including a pair of pivoted sears and sear-springs arranged to hold said scars in positions for cooking said firing-mechanisms: of a trigger having a stop-element; a pair of searactuators arranged to be engaged bysaid trigger to pivot the respective sears out of cooking engagement with said firing-mechanisms, said respective sear-actuators being pivotally mounted on the rear ends respectively of said pivoted sears for oscillatory movement in the vertical plane thereof; and an inertia-weight carried by one of said sear-actuators to pivot said one sear-actuator forwardly into engagement with said triggerstop on recoil of said firearm thereby to lock said trigger from involuntary release on recoil of said firearm so as to effect the release of said firingmechanisms in a predetermined sequence when said trigger is pulled to discharge said firearm.

6. In a single-trigger mechanism for multiple-v barrel firearms, the combination with a pair of firing-mechanisms including a pair of pivoted scars and sear-springs arranged to hold said sears,- in positions for cocking said firing-mechanisms; of a trigger having a stop-element; a pair of searactuators arranged to be engaged by said trigger to pivot the respective sears out of cocking engagement with said firing-mechanisms, said respective sear-actuators being pivotally mounted on the rear ends respectively of said pivoted sears for oscillatory movement in the vertical plane thereof; an inertia-weight carried by one of said sear-actuators to pivot said one sear-actuator forwardly into engagement with said trigger-stop on recoil of said firearm thereby to lock-said trig ger from involuntary release ,onrecoil of -said firearm so as to effect the release ofv said firingmechanisms in a predetermined sequence when said trigger is pulled to discharge saidfirearm;

and resilient-means cooperatively associated with each pivoted sear and its corresponding pivoted sear-actuator normally to hold said pivoted searactuators in operative relationship with said trigger.

7. In a single-trigger mechanism for multiplebarrel firearms, the combination with a pair of firing-mechanisms including a pair of pivoted scars and sear-springs arranged to hold said sears in positions for cooking said firing-mechanisms:

of a trigger having a stop-element; a pair of searactuators arranged to be engaged by said triggerto pivot the respective sears out of cocking engagement with said firing-mechanisms, said respective sear-actuators being pivotally mounted on the rear ends respectively of said pivoted sears for oscillatory movement in the vertical plane thereof; an inertia-weight carried by one of said sear-actuators to pivot said one sear-actuator forwardly into engagement with said trigger-stop on recoil of said firearm thereby to lock said trigger from involuntary release on recoil of said firearm so as to effect the release of said firingmechanisms in a predetermined sequence when said trigger is pulled to discharge said firearm; resilient-means cooperatively associated with each pivoted sear and its corresponding pivoted sear-actuator normally to hold said pivoted searactuators in operative relationship with said trigger; and manually-operated safety-means arranged to be cooperatively associated with one of REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file or this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 524,140 Granger Aug. 7, 1894 795,991 Lefever Aug. 1, 1905 808,890 Witherell Jan. 2, 1906 827,242 Kautzky July 31, 1906 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 155,770 Germany Dec. 9, 1904 158,485 Germany Mar. 6, 1905 

